• Question: Why did you choose this job of yours

    Asked by brebre to Avani, Jeff, Kenzi, Lindsay, Zoe on 13 May 2015. This question was also asked by Alexandra_, Xandra, -insert name here-, 428hyda38.
    • Photo: Zoe GetmanPickering

      Zoe GetmanPickering answered on 13 May 2015:


      Short answer is that it pays me money to do what I love. Grad school is just an intermediate job. Its half college, half job. You take a few classes and you run your own experiments, but you have help from an adviser who guides you or in some cases tells you what to do. There are many great grad student positions in entomology and ecology out there. I chose this one because I have a really good adviser who will help me get an even better job after I graduate.
      You need to go to grad school and get a masters degree or PhD if you want to work as a researcher or professor or in a big company.

    • Photo: K. Lindsay Hunter

      K. Lindsay Hunter answered on 14 May 2015:


      I chose the job I have now as a research associate for Sepela Field Programs because it’s related to a part of my field of biological anthropology that has always interested me, but that I haven’t really previously explored. I also wanted to make the most of where I am living in South Africa and do something that was unique to this area, so working with monkeys is a natural!

      I was interested in how farmers in South Africa view monkeys a lot like we might raccoons or opossums–as a nuisance animal–and as such, they often kill them to keep them from eating their crops. My job is to collect data on these interactions and to try to act as a kind of go-between to defuse the situation. I want to look at how education affects the way that farmers look at monkeys, and also look at ways to keep monkeys away from people where they’ll be safer and not a problem. It’s a tricky situation and this research involves a LOT of different kinds of variables, as well as being inventive in my solutions, all of which make it fun and exciting! Plus, I get to help people and monkeys!

    • Photo: Jeff Shi

      Jeff Shi answered on 15 May 2015:


      I became a scientist because I’m curious about the natural world, and this is the job that let’s me really explore it freely and creatively.

    • Photo: Kenzi Clark

      Kenzi Clark answered on 16 May 2015:


      Simple. I like science, I LOVE food, and I like to cook. Working as a food scientist and microbiologist lets me combine all of my passions.

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